Who Knew Seattle Had a "Gum Wall?"

Love a rainy day on a long weekend. Yes I said rainy! We actually have had measurable rainfall this weekend and it seems to just keep on coming. The last few days have really felt "fall-like" with chilly temperatures and a slight breeze. It was the perfect opportunity to do a little furniture shopping on Saturday as Joe and I have talked for quite some time about buying a table for our apartment. We've been using a hand-me-down since we've moved in and although it's quite functional, it's also quite big! I've had my eye on the pub-style tables for a while now and we were fortunate to find just what we were looking for- bar stools and all. Now our living room/eating area hopefully will not crowd each other so much! Saturday night I went to the longest running Improv comedy show downtown below the market. When we got to the ticket booth I was amazed to see that the whole outside wall was covered with chewed gum! Yes it sounds gross but it was also pretty neat to see as the colors and shapes sort of create this mural on the wall. Only took me a year to find something so eclectic!

This entire weekend has been the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle Center right around the Space Needle. Bumbershoot has been going on since 1971 and has artists that represent in music, film, comedy, dance and theater. Sydney and I got tickets for yesterday as one of my favorite musicians, Jason Mraz, was headlining. We woke up to pouring down rain and had thought we'd be walking down in the late morning but instead drove down and took the monorail (my first time!) to the grounds. Its pretty neat the way they have it set up with 5 different stages for music and then other buildings to stage the theater and comedy along with craft vendors and food vendors. By the time we got down there the rain had subsided for the moment and we walked around a bit and saw one of Seattle's local bands. During their set I saw some of the most eclectic group of people dancing (off beat) with their natural hair flowing, barefoot, with a unique sense of style. I couldn't help but stare a bit. The rain started again so we decided to seek refuge at our apartment with a movie for the afternoon before heading back down to the show at night. We were fortunate enough to get standby tickets to see a comedy show that included acts from Comedy Central and the Daily Show-very funny! We then made our way over to Jason Mraz. We were inside a huge stadium with many many people sharing their love of the same music. This is the second time I have seen Jason Mraz perform since living in Seattle and he did not disappoint! He had a full band with saxophone, trumpet, trombone, bongos, and drum and really put on quite the show. I'm a sucker for amazing live music and can't get enough! The rain luckily held off except for a few sprinkles. The festival is going on again today but I think one day in wet weather is all I can handle. I've instead decided to visit another era in movies and have been enjoying the work of Marilyn Monroe and Carey Grant. I figured it was about time that I expanded my horizons a bit!